Today, the 3rd of August, the Basque Culinary Center, the San Sebastián Film Festival and the Berlin International Film Festival have presented the programme for the “Culinary Zinema: Film and Gastronomy” section. Thomas Struck, head of the “Culinary Cinema” section at the Berlin Film Festival, Joxe Mari Aizega, director of the Basque Culinary Center, and José Luis Rebordinos, director of the San Sebastián Film Festival attended the press conference.

After the excellent reception that the “Culinary Zinema: Film and Gastronomy” section got, which started running last year, the 60th San Sebastián Film Festival has programmed a selection of seven full-length films and one short film that focus on gastronomy. The screenings will be accompanied by themed dinners prepared by some of the most important chefs and restaurants.

“Culinary Zinema: Film and Gastronomy” is a collaboration between the San Sebastián Festival and the Berlin International Film Festival and the Basque Culinary Center, and its main aim is to combine cinema and gastronomy in a city and region that not only have a competitive festival in the top category of the FIAPF, but also the highest concentration of Michelin stars per square metre in the world.

The programme this year includes eight films: the premiere of six full-length films and a short film, and the recovery of Babettes gaestebud (Babette’s Feast, 1987), the film by Gabriel Axel that won the Oscar for Best Foreign Film in 1988.

THE FILMS

PROGRAMME

CHEFS

Aizpea Oihaneder & Xabi Díaz from the Xarma restaurant
Aizpea and Xabi have been working together for more than ten years in a career that has taken them from the sophisticated Rocamador in Badajoz, where they won a Michelin star, to Donostia, with a project where they create a subtle, state-of-the-art cuisine, with highly sound basic elements and total concern for the excellence of their produce.

Roberto Ruíz from the Tolosa’s Frontón restaurant
Chef for the last 20 years at Tolosa’s Frontón, the pelota court restaurant celebrated as a temple of produce. Roberto studies the origin of dishes, working with producers to achieve the qualities he proceeds to transform with the finest of culinary skills.

Mikel Gallo from ni neu restaurant
Mikel runs a kitchen that aims to be accessible. He achieves this perfectly with cooking based on nods to tradition but which is totally backed up by modern highly personal techniques. The result is magnificent, easily understood and perfectly in keeping with ni neu’s unique setting: accessible excellence.

Rubén Trincado from the Mirador de Ulía restaurant
Owner and chef of the Mirador de Ulía restaurant. Holds a Michelin star since 2010. Seriously cutting edge cuisine from a chef who leads the way in things to come.

Bruno Oteiza from the restaurant Biko (Mexico City)
He started working in the kitchen when he was very young and there are few chefs with his training and career with great chefs in great restaurants. He is probably closest to Juan Mari Arzak as he has worked on projects in Mexico. Bruno currently owns the D.O. restaurants together with Pablo San Román, and the Biko, considered to be among the top 50 in the world, all of them in Mexico.
He is a media-friendly TV chef, but above all, a benchmark and a genuine bridge between Mexican and Basque cultures.

Josean Eizmendi from the Illarra restaurant
Today the Illarra restaurant is a must in the world of the grill, an evolving technique sending strong ripples through the sector of which Josean is a recognised, prizewinning author. An inquisitive, outgoing chef who loves to teach those who delight in his food and refuses to offer anything but the best.

Iñigo Lavado from the Iñigo Lavado restaurant (Irún)
A chef young in years yet already boasting an excellent professional career. Having trained in top establishments, his is a solid project. Always eager to explore new ways of working and managing. His trademark is a model of restaurant taking the forefront in all fields.

Mikel Santamaría from the Bokado Aquarium restaurant
Mikel officiates at the Aquarium’s Bokado eatery, a place of spectacular views and excellent gastronomy. Backed by long experience in modern and avant-garde cuisine, Mikel is also highly skilled in carrying off events of truly extraordinary quality.

Luis Arévalo from the Nikkei 225 restaurant in Madrid
The Peruvian Luis Arévalo works in a restaurant that is exceptional due to its location in Madrid as well as its architecture and decor.
Luis Arévalo’s cooking is a personal, highly refined style, deeply-rooted in Peruvian tradition and culture, but fused with Japanese elements. There is an authentic, highly personal touch in his creations. A personal, constantly evolving proposal offering what is known as Nikkei cuisine.